1 minBullseye LandingPolish pilot Łukasz Czepiela attempts to land a plane atop Dubai’s famous Burj Al Arab high-rise building.
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Everything you need to know about pilot Luke Czepiela’s breathtaking mission to land a plane on Dubai’s Burj Al Arab Jumeirah.
As far as aviation feats go, landing a plane on a helipad is (literally) right up there. Especially so, when the helipad in question is just 27m in diameter (about the size of a tennis court) and located at 212m above ground level on the side of one of Dubai's most luxurious hotels.
But that’s precisely what aerobatic pilot Luke Czepiela pulled off at dawn on March 14, 2023, manoeuvring his modified 7m Carbon Cub aircraft into the history books.
Taking into consideration the location of the helipad, this being on the 58th floor of Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, among all other factors, this was truly a remarkable achievement in the world of flying, engineering and all-out awesomeness
Let's take a closer look at how the accomplished aviator and his team pulled it off.
Ideas like this are dreamed up in the clouds. For Czepiela, the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah was not a must-see hotel, but an all-consuming target for a world-first – an aviation feat more than two years in the making.
"The idea came to us right after the pier landing in Sopot. It was the next step in testing what could be done with an airplane,” he says. “When I came up with the idea to land a plane on a helipad, I instantly thought of Burj Al Arab. Moreover, I knew that Dubai is open for such innovative ideas."
We wanted to do something extraordinary, but on a global scale
At 39 years old, and best known as the first Polish pilot to compete at Red Bull Air Race and winning the world championship in the Challenger class, as well as manoeuvring under three iconic bridges in Warsaw, Czepiela knew he was the man for the job.
If you want something badly enough, nothing can stop you
But to pull it off, he needed a bespoke set of wings. American company CubCrafters came on board and teamed up with Mike Patey to provide Czepiela with the perfect aircraft for the project. Having built 14 experimental planes to date, Mike Patey quickly understood the technical challenge of what Luke wanted to do. With a passion for innovation and a respect for his flying, Patey quickly came onboard. “Luke is an amazing guy. I followed him in the past and his aerobatics, routine and air racing is just unbelievable," Patey says.
The pair set about modifying the best-of-class short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft in the world, the Carbon Cub, for the attempt, but it would take more than a shiny new toy. “This type of landing, in those conditions, with a pretty much factory machine, requires specific mentality, excellent knowledge of this airframe and skills that only few can show off with,” Czepiela explains.
So, could they actually pull it off?
Becoming a pilot is all Luke Czepiela ever wanted to do. A trip to an air show with his father at the age of six started his life-long passion for aeroplanes. Day after day, Czepiela cycled to the airport to clean aircraft. As a teenager he helped push the machines out of the hangar and in return pilots took him to the air. Soon, thanks to the money earned and saved at the airport, he got his glider licence and started flying himself.
After graduating from school, he moved to the UK and worked hard, putting in 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week in order to earn the funds for a plane acrobatics course. He even worked as a babysitter. The team leader of the Honda Dream Team agreed to help him with acrobatic training as part of his payroll. A few years later Czepiela became his successor and he began racing in 2004.
Since 2010 he has participated in Red Bull's acrobatic training camps. During a three-year break in the championship he flew with the Polish aerobatics team, Żelazny, enjoying wins at national and international level and performing at air shows. In 2013 he made his debut at the world championship, where he placed in the middle of the stakes. It was enough to secure further special training, where the most talented pilots of the younger generation from all over the world trained for the Challenger Cup, in which he competed in the inaugural competition in 2014.
In the meantime, Czepiela gained a professional licence and worked as a commercial pilot for the European airline Wizz Air. He took a year out in 2015, but in 2016 he earned four podiums, including a first race win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Five more podiums followed in 2017, including one race win, and that consistency resulted in his career-high third-place finish overall.
The following year, he earned his first victory in the Challenger Class, taking first place in Budapest, Hungary. A second quickly followed in Fort Worth, USA, as he narrowly beat race favourite Florian Bergér by 0.052 seconds to win the 2018 Red Bull Air Race Challenger Cup.
In competitive flying, Czepiela has never limited himself to sport. In 2017 in the company of the Czech Martin Šonka, he flew under the Warsaw bridges - just above the surface of the Vistula River. Two years later, he opened the season in Sopot, Poland in an even more spectacular style. Also using a CubCrafters Carbon Cub, he landed on the town's famous wooden pier.
Clearly landing a plane on a helipad the size of a tennis court isn’t easy.
In order to land the plane properly, there was an almost endless list of factors for Luke Czepiela and Mike Patey to overcome, including:
• Flying at an altitude of 200m. There were no points of reference to help Czepiela touch down
• Winds throwing up dangerous turbulence
• Higher temperatures increasing the risk of the plane stalling mid-air
• Stripping the plane down to be as light as possible – just over 452kg in this case
• Keeping control of such a light aircraft, which Czepiela likens to a 'leaf in the wind'
• Rigorous training including working with a psychologist and trainer to help him get in the right head-space and lose weight pre-flight
The aircraft itself underwent an extreme weight-cut. Every screw that could be removed and replaced was swapped for a lighter, titanium one. The panel, seat, wheels and even the plating were also replaced with lighter versions. The airflow around the aircraft's tail was slightly modified to maintain control at even lower speeds. Other changes included the addition of nitrous, to temporarily increase the engine power by 50HP, vortex generators to help keep the tail effective at an even lower speed, advancing controllability and moving the main fuel tank to the rear of the plane to facilitate more aggressive braking.
Czepiela was impressed. “Big props to CubCrafters,” he said. “All their planes fly really correctly. You know exactly when it’s happening, you feel it. Above all, the tail loses effectiveness and the stick becomes very soft long before it ‘releases’ the wing. This characteristic is very safe.”
As for the landing pad itself, well, that threw up a few challenges of its own. The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah helipad is 27m in diameter, with a total touchdown area of 20m and a load-bearing capacity of 7.5 tonnes. Not only did Czepiela land, he took off again, with just a 21.5m runway to do so.
“It was the riskiest project I've taken on so far,” Czepiela explained. “There was so much that could go wrong, including fitting in on the helipad or taking off with not enough speed, which would make the plane go into free fall. Or even worse – a touchdown before the helipad. The building itself generates intense turbulence, so hitting a specific spot on the helipad surface wasn't as easy as it seemed at first.”
No pressure, then…
progress checklist
In ProgressDone
Additional fuel removed
In ProgressDone
Luggage compartment removed
In ProgressDone
Propeller swapped
In ProgressDone
Pilot’s seat replaced
In ProgressDone
Battery replaced
In ProgressDone
Avionics swapped
In ProgressDone
Nitrous added
In ProgressDone
Carbon tail shield installed
In ProgressDone
Suspension replaced
In ProgressDone
Special wheels installed
In ProgressDone
Smoke generator installed
Date of birth
Nationality
Disciplines
The Plane
The helipad
The Location
The Plane
The aircraft is based upon the lightest construction available from CubCrafters – the Carbon Cub.
The modifications necessary to execute this project have inspired the manufacturer to develop a brand-new STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) model of ultra lightweight Carbon Cub, to be called to Carbon Cub UL, that will soon be available to pilots worldwide. Besides being extremely low weight, the aircraft is characterised by the excellent power-to-weight ratio typical for this line and incredibly soft suspension, thanks to which it 'sticks' to the surface during touchdown. The model that is at Czepiela's disposal has undergone a number of additional custom modifications, precisely for the purpose of the helipad landing.
We removed some steel elements and replaced them with titanium ones. We also swapped many elements for carbon versions. As a result, the plane can fly slower.
Over 10-12 knots, there will be intense turbulence, so the wind can’t be too strong. Ideally, it should be 8-10 knots.
The 27m diameter of the helipad is not a big problem. The real challenge is to minimise the risk of hitting the edge of it with the tail – I can’t touch down at the beginning, but rather the fuselage length in, which is about 7m further. We do have a special tail shield, but it doesn’t mean we want to use it
In 2005, it hosted a tennis match between Roger Federer and Andre Agassi. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy also played golf here. In 2013, David Coulthard did some doughnuts with an F1 car up there – the attempt required consultation with the building engineer. In 2017, a ring was set up there for a sparring match featuring British boxer Anthony Joshua. On different occasions, the spot has hosted kiteboard, BMX and even BASE jumps. For the right fee, anyone can have a private party up there. Finally, a 'happy birthday' message was painted on the pad, that could be seen from a helicopter while landing for a 50th birthday party.
The Location
The Burj Al Arab skyscraper, one of Dubai's most magnificent buildings, is recognisable all over the world with its iconic sail shape that reaches more than 320m into the sky. Construction was completed in 1999 and the hotel offers 202 suites, the largest of which boasts a luxurious floorplan of 780m². The building houses a number of world-class restaurants, the highest of which is 200m above sea level.
Standing tall over the ocean, the Burj Al Arab is built on an artificial island 280m off Jumeirah Beach and is connected to the mainland via a private bridge.
Name: Burj Al Arab (Arabic برج العرب, Burǧ al-ʿArab)
Shape: Thanks to the sail shape, its silhouette is recognisable across the world.
Built in: 1994-1999
Purpose: The hotel has only suites – 202 in total. The smallest has a surface area of 169m² and the biggest 780m². The building houses a few restaurants. The highest one of them is located 200m above sea level.
Distance between the artificial island where it was built and the beach: 280m
Building height: 321m
02
heights
Tip
321m building height
Tip
212m helipad height
How it's going
The process
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
From idea to concept and execution
PROJECT TIMELINE
May 2021
Czepiela asks himself: “What would happen if I landed on a helipad?” At the airport where he keeps his 'toys', he begins to test the minimum landing distance for his Carbon Cub.
July 2021
First talks about the project and selection of the right helipad – on an iconic building.
August 2021
Commencement of talks with the members of the Dubai crew and organisation of relevant permits.
October & November 2021
First visit to Dubai and site visit at Burj Al Arab Jumeirah.
November 2021
Czepiela visited the CubCrafters factory in the United States and test flew different models of Carbon Cub aircraft to plan the technical changes to the aircraft for the landing on the helipad.
2022
The plane is being built. Czepiela trains in his Carbon Cub at the airfield in Rudniki. The project is joined by Mike Patey, the best known STOL plane specialist in the aviation community.
January 2023
Czepiela goes to the U.S. to test the new plane. He’s very happy with the machine and achieved test landing results.
February 2023
Commencement of tests in Dubai, as part of which Czepiela learns how the new plane reacts to steering and local winds in project conditions.
March 2023
Landing on the helipad of Burj Al Arab Jumeirah.
You don't just do things like this on a whim. To take on the biggest challenges, you need to plan ahead. This particular mission began in May 2021 when Czepiela asked himself: “What would happen if I landed on a helipad?”
By November, he had a team in place and was visiting Burj Al Arab Jumeirah for the first time. CubCrafters supplied the aircraft for the project and invited Mike Patey to join the team. He then customised the plane to meet the specifications required to land on the helipad of the world famous Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. As a well known STOL plane specialist in the aviation community, his input in elevating the project was vital. After working closely with Czepiela on design, testing began. In May, Czepiela performed over 200 test landings in Rudniki – including flights with his dog as copilot.
“When I climbed to the top of Burj Al Arab Jumeirah”, it even crossed my mind that there was quite a lot of space there. Later on, we drew a same-size circle at my local airfield. I completed a few landing attempts and it worked,” Czepiela says of these early successes.
Dubai test flights began in February, this time without a canine companion. Over two weeks, Czepiela relearned everything he knew, flying over 200 landings in desert conditions.
Even at this late stage issues came up. “Lightness doesn’t always go hand in hand with durability and the tail wheel bracket broke,” Czepiela explains. “The CubCrafter crew were already on their way home, so I had to replace it myself to be able to continue training."
Plane fixed, Czepiela’s approach remained practice, practice, practice, then just go for it.
THE TESTS
01
1 - CubCrafters Factory, US
Dates: November 2021
Goal: Determining best aircraft model and configuration
Approximate number of landings: 100
Shortest braking distance during tests: 20m
Result: Tailwheel configuration under 430kg preferred, extra horsepower needed for safety
Number of involved people: 3
Luke's comment: The Carbon Cub is capable, but we can do some modifications to increase the project safety margins.
02
2 - Rudniki
Dates: May 2021
Goal: Checking whether it’s possible
Approximate number of landings: 200
Shortest braking distance during tests: 13m
Result: The tests proved it was possible
Number of involved people: 10 plus a dog (which Czepiela sometimes took with him onboard)
Luke's comment: The tests were positive. Let’s move on to the next project and do that with a properly adapted plane.
03
3 - United States
Dates: January 2023
Goal: Plane tests prior to shipment to Dubai. Checking whether Czepiela will be able to get used to flying it, whether it’s not too different from the one he has. Also verifying whether the design modifications work in practice. The next goal was to check the aircraft at the density altitude similar to the one in Dubai.
Approximate number of landings: 250
Shortest braking distance during tests: 8m
Result: Promising test results. Full confidence that the project will succeed and the plane will do its job.
Number of involved people: Two locations, 12 people
Luke's comment: Flying here is great. As we expected, it turns out that the plane is light, easily performs a short landing and you can brake more aggressively, which shortens the braking distance. The new plane doesn’t bounce off at all – thanks to the suspension. We look towards Dubai more optimistically and continue to push forward.
04
4 - Dubai
Dates: First two weeks of February 2023
Goal: Getting used to different flying conditions, with increased humidity and higher temperatures. After dismantling for the ferry and reassembling, the plane might perform slightly differently. The pilot has to learn to fly it all over again in the project conditions.
Approximate number of landings: 200
Result: Getting used to flying the plane again in the project conditions and making sure that everything works at higher temperatures and altitudes.
Number of involved people: about 50
Luke's comment: For now, I’m optimistic about the future and glad that we’ll be able to fly. In Dubai, general aviation as a hobby basically doesn’t exist. We might be able to introduce new quality to this activity.
after years of preparation
Time to get real
“The landing was the first time I performed this manoeuvre in real life,” Czepiela explains of his record-setting landing on March 14. “I imagined it, trained on a simulator, but never used it in real life before.”
He gave the landing 11/10 for difficulty, calling it a "challenging project" and one that easily outstripped his pier landing and bridge-flying successes. The main challenge was, predictably, turbulence.
"We needed specific wind direction and precise speed,” he explains. “With too little wind and I wouldn’t be able to stop, too much of it would generate turbulence so intense that it would be tossing the plane, making me hit the building. Therefore, it was essential that we waited for the right conditions. In fact, flying entails 90 per cent waiting and 10 percent hurrying, and this project wasn’t any different.”
Thankfully, Czepiela nailed it, completing the ultimate landing. “We modified a plane specifically to complete this task, but it wouldn’t have been possible with just the aircraft,” says Mike Patey. “There's only a couple on all of this planet that I would feel comfortable making this attempt. Luke is exactly that guy… I've never had any doubts whether Luke could land on the helipad.”
But, landing was only part of it. Next came the take-off, which Czepiela completed with a signature flourish. “It was the first time such a technique was applied for a helipad take-off,” he explains. “With the use of nitrous, a plane accelerates so fast that after reaching the edge I could basically take off normally. However, we couldn't deny ourselves the pleasure of diving down along the wall of this spectacular landmark.”
With his feet on solid ground again, emotions were running high. "I'm really happy that I made the biggest dream in my career come true," Czepiela explained. "Landing at the height of 200m, with no clear points of reference, is completely different from landing on the ground… I had to fully trust my own skills. On the helipad, there was no room for mistakes."
“The plane was prepared perfectly, therefore I want to sincerely thank Mike Patey and the entire CubCrafters crew for their hard work over the period of many months. What they’ve done is technical magic!” he continued.
“Luke is experienced, trained, competitive,” Patey explained. “He understands all of the envelopes and risks that are involved. That guy can stick and rudder as good as the best of anybody on Earth. It’s fantastic to watch him. He's got a good mind, a good head and it takes a man like Luke and his experience paired with the engineering build of CubCrafters aircraft.”
As for what’s next on the horizon, well, Czepiela’s mind is already whirring up among the clouds. "I need a moment of rest and soon I’ll think about what to do next. I already have a few ideas…”
Were there ever any doubts that Luke could pull it off?
“I've never had any doubts whether Luke could land on the helipad. It's just there are always circumstances that you can't control,” Patey explains.
Were there any doubts about the aircraft?
“As far as the aircraft performance, we know we built it right. But in any type of extreme event, race or anything we do in the world, there's always unknowns,” says Patey.
What was the most useful part of training?
“This specific approach was so unique that the final tests performed in Dubai right beforehand were most useful,” says Czepiela.
What other experiences did Luke draw on?
“The Red Bull Air Race definitely helped me develop the ability to stay calm, the flow that is widely discussed in sports psychology. Thanks to that, it was much easier for me to control my mind and minimise the risk by concentrating on completing the task,” Czepiela explains.
Was the weather ever at risk of derailing the project?
"I did my best to fly in all types of meteorological conditions, so for sure every attempt was different,” Czepiela says of training. “We confirmed the repeatability of the landing spot and length in similar wind conditions.”
What was key to the project's success?
“Our journey from the idea to its completion took a very intense two and a half years,” says Czepiela, emphasising the role of practice and teamwork. Ultimately, in the cockpit, it comes down the man behind the controls. “When flying, there’s definitely no such thing as too much confidence,” he adds.
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